This invention generally relates to a vascular catheter for the delivery of therapetuic fluids and particularly for the uniform delivery of thrombolytic fluids to a vascular location of a patient having a thrombus or clot.
The utilization of therapeutic fluids containing tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), urokinase and streptokiase have shown promise in the treatment of thrombus or clots in a patient's arterial system. The systemic use of such therapeutic fluids have been limited by the fact that the patient's total body is medicated in order to effect sites in the patient's arterial vasculature. Direct delivery of thrombolytic fluids to the target tissue would allow for a much more effective treatment procedure. However, there are no delivery systems available which can deliver a uniform flow of such therapeutic fluids along the length of a thrombus in a patient's artery. The present invention satisfies that need.